TransPharma Medical Completes $18 Million Series C Financing
Funding led by Argonaut with backing from Teva and current investors
LOD, ISRAEL, July 24, 2006 - TransPharma Medical Ltd., a specialty
pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of drug
products utilizing a proprietary active transdermal drug delivery technology,
today announced that it has secured $18 million in Series C financing. This
oversubscribed Series C funding round was led by Argonaut Private Equity and
includes an additional new investor, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., as
well as TransPharma’s current investors: Pitango Venture Capital, Evergreen
Partners, T2C2/Bio, Vitalife, Biomedical Investments, and TIF Ventures Pte Ltd.
As a result of the financing, Jason Martin, managing director of Argonaut will
join the Company’s board.
TransPharma will use the funds to progress its lead project, transdermal hPTH
(1-34), into advanced clinical trials. Earlier this year, the Company announced
promising human clinical results demonstrating efficient and effective
transdermal delivery of hPTH (1-34) for the treatment of osteoporosis.
TransPharma plans to continue its development process in-house, bringing this
high-potential product to an advanced clinical stage before seeking a partner to
take it to market.
The Company also plans on using the funds to initiate development of
additional drug products in 2007, as well as develop a new generation of
transdermal drug delivery systems and scale-up production of its current ViaDerm
delivery system.
"TransPharma’s accomplishments during the six years since its inception are
impressive, having succeeded in developing an innovative technology and bringing
its drug products to clinical trials in a short amount of time,” said Jason
Martin, Managing Director, Argonaut Private Equity. "With its strong management
team, unique active transdermal delivery system and substantial market potential
for its product pipeline, we believe TransPharma is well positioned as a leader
in the drug delivery field.”
"We are delighted to have concluded this financing round with a syndicate of
highly accomplished investors, and are particularly pleased to be adding two new
remarkable investors – Argonaut, a diverse private equity fund with unique
financial vision, and Teva, a global pharmaceutical company that has already
proven to be a productive and valuable partner for us,” said Dr. Daphna Heffetz,
Chief Executive Officer of TransPharma Medical Ltd. "With the support of our new
and existing investors, we will continue to advance our drug products into
further stages of development while expanding our product pipeline to include
additional drug products."
TransPharma currently has a joint development agreement with Teva for up to
five molecules. The Company has already successfully completed initial clinical
trials on the first of these molecules. Under the agreement, Teva will
exclusively market each of the drug-products and will pay TransPharma milestone
payments, royalties, and development costs.
"We are very impressed by the quality and productivity of TransPharma’s team
thus far in our joint development agreement, which produced successful initial
clinical results earlier this year,” said Dr. Aharon Schwartz, Vice President,
Strategic Business Planning and New Ventures, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
In the coming years, TransPharma will continue working closely with Teva on the
development of the specified molecules, as well as planning to ally with other
companies for developing additional drug products.
About Argonaut
Argonaut Private Equity is a diversified global private equity fund dedicated to
building emerging market leaders. With more than $2 billion under management
provided by a single entrepreneur, Argonaut is uniquely positioned to assist
entrepreneurial companies. Its equity investments range from $1 million to $200
million and span such diverse markets as consumer electronics, specialty
materials, telecommunications, drug discovery and delivery, medical devices,
aviation and healthcare services. Argonaut’s portfolio includes investments in
the United States, China, Israel, India, Japan, Eastern Europe and Australia.
About TransPharma
Established in 2000, TransPharma Medical Ltd. is a specialty pharmaceutical
company focused on the development and commercialization of drug products
utilizing a proprietary active transdermal drug delivery technology. Providing
an easy-to-use, cost-effective, at-home solution, TransPharma’s ViaDerm drug
delivery system enables the delivery of a wide variety of product candidates,
including hydrophilic small molecules, peptides and proteins. TransPharma aims
to develop multiple drug products through strategic partnerships with leading
pharmaceutical companies and through independent product development. For more
information, visit the Company's website at www.transpharma-medical.com.
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